Mother Qi cried all the way to the Qi family’s old house, a large-tiled house nestled against the mountain, and quite ancient. When she arrived, a roof tile fell off and smashed on the ground right in front of her, scaring her so much she dared not even cry.
As Qi Jianguo said, the old house had indeed been cleaned, yet it couldn’t hide the destitution and dilapidation. As she pushed open the door, a musty stench rushed to greet her. Though the inside had been cleaned, spider webs still draped heavily from the beams above.
After all, it was a house that hadn’t been lived in for over a decade, not only giving off a musty smell but also an icy chill, devoid of any signs of life.
Mother Qi shivered all over, and when she lifted her eyes, several portraits hung on the walls. They were paintings of the Qi family’s ancestors, figures like great-great-grandfathers, sporting Qing Dynasty braids, looking gloomy and terrifying.
Tears welled up in Mother Qi’s eyes again. How could anyone live in this wretched place?
That damn Qi Shuhua, how could he be so heartless?
Qi Jianguo carried blankets into the room, and when Mother Qi followed and saw them, she burst into tears.
The large kang bed, made from bricks, only had a single wooden plank for a bed—was that even considered a bed?
"Mom, what happened... Dad didn’t say, what did you do to make him so angry?" Qi Jianguo couldn’t bear it and gently asked.
"What could I have done? Your father is out of his mind, possessed, led astray by ghosts and your older sister-in-law," Mother Qi sat abruptly on the bed, lifting her clothes to wipe her tears.
What had she done? Was popping a few condoms really that big of a deal to warrant such treatment from everyone?
"Mom, Dad is not an unreasonable man. Speak up, if you did something wrong, admit your mistake, and I will bring you back there later," Qi Jianguo urged.
"I’m not wrong, I won’t go back, your father is heartless, and I don’t need him. Can’t I live without him?" Mother Qi sobbed, saying, "It’s just pitiful for you two young ones; it’s all your older brother and sister-in-law’s fault—they are heartless, they are unfilial. Jianguo, in the future, you must never follow in their footsteps, your mother only has you now."

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